I would argue that Kingston might be a better dividing line. To me, Crown Heights operates around three major spheres of influence: Franklin Ave, Nostrand Ave, Kingston Ave, and Utica Ave. Franklin is definitely West, Utica is definitely East.

Kingston to me seems to be part of CH east. Think of those who shop on Kingston; they come from both sides - east of Nostrand and west of Utica - so I'm hesitant to split it. Kingston is easily "crossed." I picked Nostrand as I feel that it is not as much the case.

I agree Franklin is definitely west. Similar to Kingston, utilized by those who live on both sides of it.

When is the next gathering? I will try to make it and take a few cards for SE (along with some tips on how to discretely leave them behind in strategic locations). I really wanted to join the last one but was out of town for both the small and official gatherings.

I have one particular place in mind - the laundromat on the corner of Troy and Crown which seems to be frequented by "gentrifiers," in addition to the locals.

a. People are bored.b. The audience uses a computer at work.c. The audience seems like they are going to live in Crown Heights for a while.

As a result, I like leaving them at Community Board/tenant/merchant association meetings, as well as laundromats. At approximately $20 per 1000 cards, I am ok with only a fraction of the recipients ever posting.

I think the way this discussion is going is akin to the balkanization of Northern Africa and the middle east after WW1 & WW2.I have lived on Kingston Avenue and lived just off of Nostrand Avenue during my more than 60 years in Crown Heights.

If you are going to try and discuss Crown Heights, I think that Bedford Avenue is the dividing line between east and west Crown Heights.

The only thing that differentiated the respective poles of Crown Heights was the socio-economics of the respective housing stock coming out of that geographic split, and they way it has progressed from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80, 90s, and into this new millenium.

If you are going to discuss eastern Crown Heights and say that there isn't much to talk about, you must be ignorant of all the talent that resides in the community. A principle problem in identifying the talents of this community lies in the fact that so many people within this community lend their talents in Bed-Stuy and other communities, or live in public housing and therefore don't come into contact with many of the personae that comment on this blog.

---> Some people believe that I don't talk about the area east of Nostrand much because I don't believe there is much to talk about. Actually the explanation is tied to the areas I walk my dog. We only walk so far from where I live, and hence, I don't develop as many insights/relationships/observations beyond that zone.

Thank you very much @nothinglikeabklyngirl. I rarely venture north of EP and east of Troy, but it does seem like north "eastern CH has dumpsters and guys with power tools everywhere" as @whynot_31 puts it. Not so much the case south of EP.

I think that the area east of Kingston/west of Utica and south of EP/north of Empire has a lot of single/two-family homes which have already been settled in and often renovated. When those homes become available, they are most often purchased by Lubavitch looking for a place for their families. We have LOTS of young, married couples here. While there are some empty plots in the area, they tend not to be massive ones for redevelopment. Most of the re-development I've seen in this area has been limited to gut renovations of the small/medium size apartment buildings. (There's one now on Troy and Union.) There was a larger parcel available on ENY Ave near Schenectady, but a low rise apartment building was erected there about a year ago and it is already rented out. Also, a couple of larger properties were developed for schools in recent years. (I know of three.) The few vacant parcels I know of are probably already spoken for. I doubt many single family homes in this area of Crown Hts will be bought up and torn down for apartment buildings since there is simply too great a demand for single family homes. At least not in my lifetime.

I would really like to see a "Friends of Lincoln Terrace Park." It is really a nice, large place with plenty of seating as well as basketball and other sports areas. The southern part of the park is usually quite well populated, the northern part (between Carroll and EP) less so.

@morralkan - Do you have any info on the building on the corner of Troy and Union. It seems like there are a couple holdouts. Thanks.

With regard to Troy and Carrol which is a fairly large corner lot (I'd say large enough for 6-8 units per floor, depending on size of unit), I hear that development is on its way; that they are making progress. It is zoned R4, and my understanding is that the neighbors were causing issues as the owner may have been looking to get a variance of some sort.

With regard to Troy and Crown, which is a massive lot by neighborhood standards, I hear it is very expensive to build there. There is a large mountain there so a lot of dirt would have to be moved (as was done for 580 Crown), and I've also hear talk of bedrock.

I don't have any info on the building. I did notice that there were obviously a couple of occupied apartments there since some windows were not covered with plywood. I'm guessing that whatever the renovations, the height of the building will not be increased. On the corner of President and Albany, when they gut-renovated that building (of similar size) a few years ago, they also did not increase the height. I'm guessing the same forces that might have prevented that one will also be in effect this time.

As to Troy and Carroll, I agree that something will eventually come, though I don't have any first hand info. I neighbor who might know something is away till the fall, so I really have no one to ask. Probably again, the height will be limited to 4 or at most 6 stories for the reason above.

I did look at the Friends of Lincoln Terrace Park. It seems to me, from the limited pictures and text there, that this may simply be a kindergarten/1st grade class project. I very very rarely like or friend anything on Facebook, but I will do so in this case and see if any further news pops up. (By the way, I went to PS 189 for 4 1/2 years MANY years ago and my mother also taught there for several years.)

You're welcome. And no, their page doesn't seem like much but I figured that would be a good place to start. I bet other folks who are interested have stumbled across them as well and maybe they could put you in touch with each other. My hubby went to 189 also

TerraCRG has been retained to sell the completely renovated and restored multifamily building located at 1078 Park Place. The ~11,100 SF property is situated on the corner of Park Place and Kingston Avenue in the Crown Heights Kingston Shopping District and just across the street from Brower Park.

The four story property consists of eight completely renovated apartments each with large layouts, with three to four bedrooms each. The building’s lobby has been renovated and redesigned, the hallways and staircases in the building have also been renovated. The unit mix consists of two 3-bedroom duplexes, four 3-bedroom and two 4-bedroom apartments. The apartments feature brand new kitchens, bathrooms, new windows, new hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, custom cabinetry, new HVAC systems, new hot water heaters and all have video intercom. Unit 2R has access to a rooftop patio.

The building will be delivered fully rented with free market unit status and rents averaging $50 per square foot with annual rent over $345,000.

Crown Heights has seen tremendous transformation over the last decade with many condo developments, strong retail, and a robust brownstone sales market. In just a few years, rents have risen from $25/SF to $45/SF, and are poised to reach $50/SF and above within the next two years.

The building is also only a short distance from the Kingston Avenue 3 Subway Station. The property is also accessible through the B43 bus line that runs North on Kingston Avenue, and South on Brooklyn Avenue.

A friend of mine asked me about 1308 and 1314 Lincoln Place. It is currently an empty lot and appears to be owned by Brookland Capital.. I had a look around, and it appears that, back in October, they filed for a two new 6 story residential buildings with 13 units each. I haven't seen this discussed anywhere else.

A new development east of Utica in the far southeast corner of Crown Heights.

"Pushing ever deeper into Crown Heights, a permit application was filed yesterday with the Department of Buildings to construct a 50-unit apartment building at 12 Ford Street, on the narrow, two-block-long oddly shaped street on the far eastern edge of the neighborhood."

@whynot_31 - I don't think that is correct. 12 Ford St., 11213, (Block: 1415 Lot: 32) is between Carroll and Crown. The decrepit red house is 1017 ENY Ave. The link to Google maps which I posted appears to be correct.

It appears that the same owner owns Block: 1415 Lots: 31, 32, 33, and 34. If the developer got all of them, the site would be 100 x 100.

But I also note that the same owner owns lot 36 as well. Lot 35, owned by someone else, if not purchased as well, was likely was part of some serious negotiations. Lot 37, the corner, is owned yet by another person.

"the apartment building would rise seven stories and 75 feet into the air. Its 50 apartments (which appear to us to be market-rate) would be spread over a bit more than 34,000 square feet of residential space, for an average unit size of under 700 square feet, with between six and nine units per floor. There will be 22 parking spaces, of which 15 are required by the zoning code."

It seems like they only got 4 lots for a total of 100 x 100. 34k sqf is pretty much maxing out that space. 100 x 100 = 10k x R7-1 FAR of 3.44 = ~34k.

I think it safe to assume the residents will shop on Utica between EP and Carroll, as they walk to and from the subway.

Yes; I am most excited about the change to Utica (and the park). I am looking forward to some cool new stores.

These developments are pretty much in the southeastern most corner of CH. We should now expect everything between the Ford Street developments and the Utica train station to be game for development and change. 105 new rentals (safe assumption) has the tendency to do that to an area.

I wasn't expecting a jump this far from the current developments (Rogers/EP area), but I welcome it nonetheless.

Eastern CH south of EP may just turn before eastern CH north of EP. The race has begun in earnest.